Splash guard



June 29, 1937. w. c. JACKSON S-PLASH GUARD Filed Oct. 8, 1935 ,i mlL IIIIII L INVENTOR. I 'WQQI WWV' Patented June 29, 1937 PATENT OFFKJE SPLASH GUARD WaltelxC. Jackson, Rahway, N. 'J., assignor to Tingley-Reliance Rubber Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application October S, 1935, Serial No. 44,005

.19 Claims. (01. 208-141) This invention relates to bicycle or motorcycle fender splash guards of the type adapted to be attached to a stand holding clip that depends from the lower end of'the fender at the rear. More specifically, the present improvements deal with devices whereby the splash guard may be readily attached to the clip.

In accordance with the presentinventiomthere is provideda flexible apron, preferably made of vulcanized rubber, formedin its upper central portion with a pair of spaced lugs, likewise made of rubber, permanently vulcanized into the apron. Bridging the lugs, but movable with respect thereto, is a member having abase portion arranged to fit between the lugs and which' in its outer portion is formed with .a pair of spaced. ears, the end outer surfaces of whichflare outwardly from the lugs and whichcooperate with the lugs in. such manner that, asrthe bridge "zo'member is drawninwardly toward the apron, a

wedging action occurs that acts to force-the ears inwardlytoward each other. In attaching the guard to the stan'd clip, the ears are located one at each side of the clip, andthenipressed against the latter, causingthe ears to be (sprung apart until the clip seats in a pair of opposed recesses formed at, the base of the ears just above thebody portion of the bridge member, whereupon the ears will spring back into place and firmly gripthe clip. Thereafter, the bridge g'uard firmly imposition;

Rigidity is lent to the lugs by a U-shaped metal member, the base portion of which is vulcanized into the apron-and the flange" portions of which project into the lugs. Resiliency,.in additionto that which is inherent in the material of which the bridge memberis made, isgiven to the ears by a metallic clip having a base portion vulcanized into the base portion of the bridge member and two arm portions flaring outwardly from the base portion and extending into the ears.

Of course, means are provided for drawing the bridge member in toward the apron of the guard, so as to secure the additional gripping action previously alluded to. In effect, what the invention provides is a splash guard which may be .readily applied to-a fender, without .in any way altering the parts of the machine with which it is associated,, ar id with a minimum of eifortand a projecting from the base portion a at the ends Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of a splash guard embodying the present improvements and which is shown secured to a bicycle stand holding clip depending from the rear fender of a bicycle;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the splash guardretaining means before it has been applied to the stand holding clip;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the guard attached to the clip; Fig. 4 is an exploded view in perspective of the guard and its retaining means, a portion only of the apron however being shown;

Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the lug and the bridge member reinforcing means, re- 15 spectively.

As shown in Fig. 1, the fender splash guard A in service is attached to a bicycle stand retaining clip :13 which,as is the custom, is permanently secured to therear fender C of the bi- 20 cycle. The clip B is mounted on the inside of the :fender, i. e., the side adjacent the wheel, either by riveting or by a boltand slot connection C and extends below the lower edge of the fender where it is bent, as at B to receive I25 the stand.

The splash guard A at its upper end fits beneath the fender C and is snapped on to the stand holding clip B from the rear of the latter, so that when the guard is in place, it rests behind 30 the clip B, i. e., between it and the wheel.

Preferably the-fender guard A includes 2. flexible vulcanized rubber apron A with the holding means by which it is secured to the clip B located in the upper central portion thereof. 35

The holding means in part includes a pair of spaced lugs A projecting from the apron on the sidefacing the clip and which too, are made of rubber vulcanized to the apron. In order to give the lugs rigidity for a purpose which will 40 hereinafter be described, there is provided a .U-shaped metal clip A having a base portion a embedded in the apron and two flange portions thereof and which extend into the lugs A (see 40 Figs. 2 and 5).

The holding means further includes a vulcanized rubber member D bridging the space and a pair of spaced ears D projecting from the base portion and adapted to be sprung, one

on each side of the clip B. Theears, in their outer or end faces, where the bridge member engages the lugs A flare outwardly from the base portion D whereas in their inner faces, said ears are formed with a pair of opposed recesses d immediately above the base portion and in which the stand holding clip B is adapted to seat.

The bridge member D is reinforced by a metal clip D which, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6, includes a flat base portion d formed with a square hole d centrally located therein, two lateral flanges d to give the base portion rigidity and two end portions d extending from the base portion at an angle substantially the same as that of the flaring end surfaces of the ears, and which at their ends curve inwardly one toward the other.

vIt may be noted here, that the end portions d are reduced in width, intermediate their ends in order to allow for the separation of the ears as the latter are sprung into place on the stand holding clip B, and also to permit the ears to yield at this point as the bridge member is pulled in-toward the apron.

The bridge member D is held in place between the lugs by a bolt E formed with a flat head E which seats in arecess D provided in the bridge member in the surface thereof resting against the stand holding clip B when the latter is in place, and which bears against the outer surface of the metal reinforcing piece D. The bolt, for a short portion just beneath its head,'is formed with a square shank that fits the square hole in the reinforcing clip, thus preventing turning of the bolt with respect to said clip and extends through the apron A and incidentally the metal reinforcing member A therein, which is provided with a hole a for the purpose, and is held in place by a washer E and a nut E threaded on the end of said bolt.

In applying the guard to the stand holding clip, the nut E is unscrewed slightly, allowing the bridge member D to be moved relatively to the lugs A for a short distance away from the apron to the position shown in Fig. 2, wherein the ears D will be free from the confining influence of the lugs A The ears D due to the narrow width of the end sections of the clip D now may be separated sufficiently to permit the bridge member to be sprung on the stand holding clip B, the latter when in place seating against the base portion of the bridge member and in the recesses d formed in the ears thereof. Thereafter, the bridge member is moved relatively to the lugs in toward the apron A by screwing the nut E up on the bolt E and, as this occurs, the ears D will be pressed tightly against the clip B by'virtue of the wedging action between the outer flaring surfaces of the ears and the inner edges of the lugs which are in contact therewith. This pressing action of the ears against the stand holding clip is permitted due to the fact that the lugs A are relatively rigid, whereas the ears are more flexible, since, as previously stated, the end portions of the clip reinforcing means are somewhat narrower in width than the remaining portions.

As an additional precaution against inadvertent removal of the guard from the stand holding clip, it will be noted that when the ears have been pressed in tightly against the clip, the turned-in ends of the reinforcing piece in the bridge member actually overlap the edges of the stand holding clip, so that even if it were possible for such clip to pull through the rubber, the

.metal piece D would act as a positive stop, preventing the guard from being removed.

In the accompanying drawing the invention has been shown merely by way of example and in preferred form, and obviously many variations and modifications may be made therein which will still be comprised within its spirit. For instance, it is not absolutely necessary for the fender to be equipped with a stand holding clip, since any suitable metal strip depending therefrom would serve as an equivalent means to which the splash guard could be secured, and where stand holding clip has been employed in the claims, such other equivalent means are intended to be included thereby. Then, too, although it is preferred that the holding devices be made of rubber with the metal reinforcement, they very readily could be made entirely of either rubber or metal, or any other suitable material for that matter, which will permit functioning of the parts as herein intended. It is to be understoodftherefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment, except insofar as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A fender splash guard, adapted to be secured to a stand holding clip depending from the fender and including, in combination, a flexible apron and means for securing the apron to the clip, said means including devices associated with the apron and adapted to snap into engagement with the lateral edges of the clip.

2. A fender splash guard, adapted to be secured to a stand holding clip depending from the fender and including, in combination, a flexible apron and means for securing the apron to the clip, said means including devices associated with the apron and adapted to snap into engagement with the lateral edges of the clip, and means for augmenting the gripping action of said devices.

.3. A fender splash guard, adapted to be secured to a stand holding clip depending from the fender and including, in combination, a flexible apron and means for securing the apron to the clip, said means including a pair of spaced lugs protruding from the upper central portion of the apron, a gripping device associated with the lugs and adapted to snap into engagement with the clip, and means for moving the gripping device relative to the lugs in a manner to augment the gripping engagement of said device and clip.

4. A combination according to claim 3, wherein the apron and the gripping device are formed of vulcanized rubber.

5. A combination according to claim 3, wherein the apron and the lugs therein referred to are formed of vulcanized rubber and wherein the lugs are provided with' metallic reinforcing means.

6. A combination according to claim 3, wherein the apron and the lugs therein referred to are formed of vulcanized rubber and wherein the lugs are reinforced by a metallic U-shaped clip, having its body portion embedded in the apron and its flange portions extending into and embedded in the lugs.

7. A combination according to claim 3, wherein the gripping device therein referred to is formed of vulcanized rubber reinforced with a resilient metal member. 7

8. A fender splash guard, adapted to be secured to a stand holding clip depending from the fender and including, in combination, a flexible apron and means secured to one face of the apron centrally of its upper portion and presenting a pair of spaced ears adapted to be moved apart as the clip is inserted between them and to return to grip the clip at its edges.

9. A fender splash guard, adapted to be secured to a stand holding clip depending from the fender, and including, in combination, a flexible apron and means secured to one face of theapron centrally of its upper portion and presenting a pair of spaced ears of resilient material adapted to be sprung apart as the clip is inserted between them and to return to grip the clip at is edges.

10. A fender splash guard, adapted to be secured to a stand holding clip depending from the fender, and including, in combination, a flexible apron and means secured to one face of the apron centrally of its upper portion and presenting a pair of ears spaced apart in a horizontal direction when the guard is in service and consisting at least partly of vulcanized rubber, said ears being adapted to be sprung outwardly as the clip is inserted between them and to return to grip the clip at its lateral edges.

11. A fender splash guard, adapted to be secured to a stand holding clip depending from the fender, and including, in combination, a flexible apron and means secured to one face of the apron centrally of its upper portion and presenting a pair of ears spaced apart in a horizontal direction when the guard is in service and adapted to be moved outwardly as the clip is inserted between them and to return to grip the clip at its lateral edges, said means including a, metal reinforcing member.

12. A fender splash guard, adapted to be secured to a stand holding clip depending from the fender, and including, in combination, a flexible apron and means secured to one face of the apron centrally of its upper portion and presenting a pair of ears spaced apart in a horizontal direction when the guard is in service and adapted to be movedoutwardly as the clip is inserted between them and to return to grip the clip at its lateral edges, said means comprising a rubber element with a metal member embedded therein.

13. A fender splash guard, adapted to be secured to a stand holding clip depending from the fender, and including, in combination, a flexible apron, means secured to one face of the apron centrally of its upper portion and presenting a pair of spaced ears adapted to engage the clip at its lateral edges, and means for pressing the ears tightly against the clip.

14. A fender splash guard, adapted to be secured to a stand holding clip depending from the fender, and including, in combination, a flexible apron, means secured to one face of the apron centrally of its upper portion for attaching the apron to the clip, said means including a pair of spaced lugs protruding from the apron, a member arranged between the lugs and presenting a pair of spaced ears adapted to engage the clip at its lateral edges, said lugs and said member having engaging surfaces so shaped that relative movement therebetween in one direction will act to press said ears against the clip, and means for effecting such relative movement.

15. A fender splash guard, adapted to be secured to a stand holding clip depending from the fender, and including, in combination, a flexible apron, means secured to one face of the apron centrally of its upper portion for attaching the apron to the clip, said means including a pair of spaced lugs protruding from the apron, a member arranged between the lugs and presenting a pair of spaced ears adapted to engage the clip at its lateral edges, said member being formed at its ends with a pair of oppositely inclined surfaces engageable with the lugs and adapted upon relative movement in one direction between said lugs and said member to press the ears tightly against the clip, and means for effecting such relative movement.

16. A fender splash guard, adapted to be secured to a stand holding clip depending from the fender, and including, in combination, a flexible apron, means secured to one face of the apron centrally of its upper portion for attaching the apron to the clip, said means including a pair of spaced lugs protruding from the apron, a member arranged betweenthe lugs and presenting a pair of spaced ears formed with opposed recesses to receive the clip, said member being movable relatively to the lugs and so shaped that relative movement in one direction will act to press the ears tightly against the clip, and means for effecting such relative movement of the parts.

17. A fender splash guard adapted to be secured to a stand holding clip depending from the fender, including, in combination, a flexible vulcanized rubber apron and means for securing the apron to the clip, said means including a pair of spaced rubber lugs presenting opposed parallel faces vulcanized into the apron, a vulcanized rubber member bridging the space between the lugs and formed with a base portion entering between the lugs and ears projecting from the base portion, the outer endsof said member adjacent the lugs being provided with surfaces flaring outwardly beyond the inner faces of the lugs, said ears in their inner portions being formed with opposed recesses immediately above the base portion to receive the clip, and a, bolt passing through the base of said member and through the apron, whereby as the bolt nut is screwed up, the bridge member will be drawn toward the apron, the lugs acting on the flaring portions of the ears to effect a movement of the latter toward each other more tightly to grip the clip.

18. A combination according to claim 17, wherein the bridge member is reinforced with metal, and wherein the outer portion thereof adapted to bear against the clip is recessed to receive the bolt head which is adapted to seat on the metal reinforcing member.

19. A combination according to claim 17, wherein the bridge member is reinforced with a metallic strip having hook portions, adapted when the ears are pressed inwardly to overlap the clip member.

WALTER. C. JACKSON. 

